His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

﴿And for the divorced women is a provision in a fair manner, a duty upon the righteous﴾ ﴿Thus Allah makes clear His verses to you that perhaps you will understand﴾

People have differed regarding this verse.

Abu Thawr said: It is definitive, and the provision is for every divorced woman, whether he has consummated the marriage with her or not, whether it has been prescribed for her or not by this verse.

Az-Zuhri said: There is a provision for every divorced woman, and for the female slave whom her husband divorces.

Sa'id ibn Jubair said: There is a provision for every divorced woman.

Ibn al-Qasim said in the relaxation of the curtains from the 'Muwatta': Allah, the Exalted, has made the provision for every divorced woman by this verse, then He made an exception in the other verse which He has prescribed for her, and he has not consummated the marriage with her, thus excluding her from the provision. Zayd ibn Aslam claimed that it abrogated it.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Ibn al-Qasim fled from the term of abrogation to the term of exception, and the exception does not apply in this context; rather, it is pure abrogation, as Zayd ibn Aslam said. If Ibn al-Qasim insists that his saying: "And for the divorced women" encompasses every divorced woman, he must accept the statement of abrogation without a doubt.

And 'Ata ibn Abi Rabah and others said: This verse is concerning the widows who have been married, as it has been mentioned in other verses regarding the provision for those who have not been consummated with. This is a statement that the one who has been prescribed for her before consummation has never been included in this generality. Thus, his saying comes on the basis that His saying, exalted and majestic is He: ﴿And if you divorce them before you have touched them﴾ [Al-Baqarah: 237] is specific to this category of women. And whenever it is said that the generality encompasses them, then that is abrogation, not specification.

Ibn Zayd said: This verse was revealed affirming the matter of the provision, for it was revealed before ﴿a duty upon the righteous﴾, thus it became obligatory upon them.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This obligation is from the interpretation of at-Tabari, not from the wording of Ibn Zayd.

And His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "a duty" is in the accusative as a source, and "the righteous" here appears to refer to those who are engaged in the fear of Allah, the Exalted. And the 'kaf' in His saying: "Thus" is for comparison, and "that" refers to this explanation, and the differentiation that occurred among women and to the obligation of the provision for them. That is, as this story clarifies, it clarifies all of His verses, and "that perhaps you will" is a hope regarding humanity. Whoever sees this clarification hopes to understand what it clarifies for him.